Quackerjack
Quackerjack is a recurring villain in the Darkwing Duck animated series and comic books. He is a former toymaker who turned crazy and adopted a jester appearance, with an arsenal of deadly toys at his command. Personality Quackerjack was originally a deranged toymaker whose toys were dangerous, and got his company shut down. He went over the edge and turned to a life of crime, driven by what he calls his "wackiness" to robs banks and cause chaos for a twisted thrill. He keeps a toy he calls Mr. Banana-Brain, talking to it and making it seem like it's talking. Ever since Negaduck destroyed Banana-Brain, Quackerjack went further over the edge. Background He was once a toymaker who was run out of business after the "Whiffle Boy" video game market expanded. Understandably, he has a particular hatred of "Whiffle Boy" video games and toys. He became a supervillain who robbed banks to get money to fund his toymaking ventures and uses his toys to aid him for his crimes in most episodes. However, he's a genius who has built many successful toys. His catchphrase is "It's PLAYTIME!" Quackerjack seems to be influenced by the classic clownish archetype of supervillain that includes the Joker, the Trickster, Punch and Jewelee, the Harlequin, the Prankster, Toyman, and the Clown. He also has a doll named Mr. Banana Brain (a parody of Mr. Potato Head), whom he carries around and talks to. Generally, he adapts a high pitched voice to have the puppet talk back in rhyming form. Other dangerous toys used by Quackerjack are a Giant teddy bear robot which destroyed a "Whiffle Boy" warehouse before self-destructing; a giant "Crying Crissie" doll with which he tried to unsuccessfully flood "Whiffle Boy" town, a pair of robot chattering teeth, an apathy causing toy called Mr. Relaxatron and his most fiendish torture device--a talking trivia doll which repeats useless historic facts endlessly over and over! Most times Quackerjack works alone, but he has been known to team up with Megavolt, and was a member of the Fearsome Five (led by Negaduck and including Bushroot, Liquidator, and Megavolt). His superpower is his "wackiness," which hardily annoys Negaduck. Appearances ''Darkwing Duck His debut was in "Whiffle While You Work", in which he first met Darkwing (though he seemed to know him from somewhere, Darkwing didn't know him) and their rivalry was established. In "The Haunting of Mr. Banana Brain", he stole a haunted jack-in-the-box that contained a demonic entity named Paddywhack (voiced by the late Phil Hartman), who possessed his doll for a little while, and feeds on the emotion of suffering that he causes others. Quackerjack noticed a change in the voice of his doll (Paddywhack's voice was far deeper than the high pitch Quackerjack used for the doll himself), but seemed unsurprised that the doll was moving and talking under its own power. This means Quackerjack likely is not aware of the doll lacking life of its own (though he seems aware that it is a doll), suggesting insanity and draws a parallel to Batman's almost contemporary villain The Ventriloquist (created in 1988, only three years before ''Darkwing Duck). In the episode, he was forced to team up with Darkwing Duck to get rid of Paddywhack, or submit to eternal torment specifically designed by Paddywhack with Quackerjack in mind: Paddywhack would fiendishly (from Quackerjack's point-of-view) force Quackerjack to adopt "normal" modes of behavior. This was raucously characterized by the depiction of Quackerjack dressed in a business suit. In "Toys Czar Us", he forced the manager of a toy store to stock shelves with his personal brand of fun, despite protest. In "Quack of Ages", he went back in time using his Time Top to eliminate the very first yo-yo. This ended in his accidental aiding of the invention of the yo-yo, thanks to Darkwing. In "Time and Punishment", he used the top to travel into the future with Megavolt to discover more advanced toys. Thanks to an accidental kidnapping of Gosalyn, he turned Darkwing into the revenge-crazed Darkwarrior Duck. As a member of the Fearsome Five, Quackerjack appeared in the episode "Just Us Justice Ducks". In a fight with Gizmoduck, it is revealed Quackerjack has false teeth (though this may have likely been a gag). In "Stressed To Kill", Quackerjack teamed up with Megavolt again, and, using a toy called Mr. Relaxatron, the two had the city in an apathetic daze as they robbed it blind and caused mass mayhem. Throughout the episode, he constantly annoys Megavolt by calling him "Sparky." A heroic version Quackerjack is seen as one of the members of the "Friendly Four" in "Life, the Negaverse, and Everything". The Negaverse Quackerjack is still insane but more docile and actually has somewhat of a conscience, being he still makes toy weaponry but only to use against Negaduck while he gives normal toys to children. The regular Quackerjack reappeared as a Fearsome Five member again in the episode "Jail Bird". When Negaduck stole the powers of the other four members, it was revealed that Quackerjack's superpower was "wackiness" (a euphemism for mania), without which he became depressed and whiny. ''Darkwing Duck'' comics Despite being a regular villain in the TV show, Quackerjack had relatively few appearances in the comics published while the show was running. He appeared alongside his fellow Fearsome Five members in the comic book adaptation of "Just Us Justice Ducks", and again in "Kitchen Clean-Up" in ''The Disney Afternoon'' #1, but only had a single cameo in one Disney Adventures comic. In the Darkwing Duck revival comics published under Boom! Studios, Quackerjack's character was revamped. He became more evil after Negaduck destroyed his Banana-Brain doll. He worked for Quackwerks, but then he really snapped after no one would listen to his ideas. He became the leader of the Fearsome Four (minus Negaduck), destroyed a Crimebot with his bare hands, and blew up buildings with exploding action figures of himself. After he was carted away to prison, Quackerjack escaped and got a device that would turn St. Carnardians into soulless little toys. It is revealed he has a girlfriend named Claire. Darkwing to stop his plan and make him think things through, but Quackerjack escapes and turns himself into a toy at Claire's doorstep. In Boom!'s final arc, "Dangerous Currency", Quackerjack is revived after getting touched by the slime that Magica De Spell uses to take over Duckburg and St. Canard. However, this story arc was never approved by the Walt Disney Company and is not considered canon. Canonically, Quackerjack is shown to have been resurrected in a one-page cameo in "Dawn of the Day of the Return of the Living Spud II: Army of Starchness", published in issue #8 of the continuation by Joe Books. He is shown watching a news report on TV while working on a plan he has in store for St. Canard's upcoming toy expo. It is unknown how he was changed back from a doll, and due to the comic's cancellation, it will likely never be explained. Darkwing Duck (video game) Quakerjack appears as a boss character in the video game. Darkwing battles him at the end of bridge level. Goof Troop In the Goof Troop episode "Axed by Addition", Quackerjack makes a cameo on Max's watch. Powers and abilities Like Negaduck, Quackerjack possess no superhuman abilities, though that makes him no less dangerous than any other villain. While no martial artist, Quackerjack is incredibly athletic, capable of performing perfect backflips and impressive leaps. In fact, his acrobatic affinity and use of lethal gadgets makes him a top tier villain, also, his madness makes him highly unpredictable. Toys Quackerjack is a brilliant toymaker, but all his creations tend to be dangerous, cleverly-disguised weapons, or tools he uses to escape. His trademark toy is chattering teeth that bite. Otherwise. he's used a number of toy or joke-based weapons and gadgets, like Pogo-sticks, electric joy buzzers, etc. Quackerjack once even invented a time-machine called the Time Top (due to its design being based on a spinning top). Trivia *In "Stressed to Kill," Quackerjack is shown to have the ability to speak German while under the guise of Dr. Heebie. *According to Flapping Terror's interview with Tad Stones, Quackerjack was intended to be a darker character, much like The Joker, but he ended up being written as a more silly, eccentric type villain, which Stones was disappointed with. This may be changed with the new comic series. External links * * Category:Characters Category:Darkwing Duck characters Category:Villains Category:Ducks Category:Clowns Category:Males